The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Director Steven Spielberg and Producer Peter Jackson bring to the big screen the beloved comic book character Tintin in glorious 3D motion capture. Jamie Bell is the young journalist/detective Tintin, who is thrust into a century old mystery when he buys a model ship known as the Unicorn, which sunk in the 17th century. Ivan Sakharine (Daniel Craig) desperately tires to buy the model Unicorn ship off Tintin for mysterious motives, Tintin however refuses to sell and instead begins to investigate the secrets surrounding the Unicorn. Along the way he befriends Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) ancestor to the Captain of the Unicorn.
This is one film that definitely has to be seen in 3D. The animation is beautiful and the action scenes are inventive, flawless and thrilling. There are plenty of hilarious slapstick in the film that is bound to get anyone laughing. The scene transitions are especially cool and while many audience members will not take note of them, film buffs with a keen eye are sure to find enjoyment from them. The voice acting is top notch, even Daniel Craig is impressive, something I had reservations about due to his crap-tastic accent in Defiance. My favorite part of the film was however Tintin's dog Snowy, an incredibly smart and loyal sidekick.  The main let down in this film is the lack of emotion in Act Three/the climax. Two particular characters should be very personally connected through a century old family feud, but there is no successful emotional payoff in the resolution of this fight. As the film title suggests, Tintin is the main character but the story turns out to be more about Captain Haddock. Tintin, especially in the crisis point dwindles in the background, which has a negative flow on the film.
This Tintin film is the first in a planned trilogy with Peter Jackson to direct the sequel. We all know that Peter Jackson is very capable of topping the first film in a franchise (ie. LOTR  sequels) so here's hoping that the Tintin sequel is even better.

The Ides of March

Press secretary Stephen Meyers, RYAN GOSLING, with campaign manager Paul Zara, PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, are working together on a political campaign for who they hope will be the next president of the United States. Their boss, democratic Governor Mike Morris, GEORGE CLOONEY, has to first win the primary vote in the state of Ohio against fellow democratic Senator Pullman, MICHAEL MANTELL, so the presidential candidates can be decided. 
Stephen Meyers thinks he has the best job in the world and believes he is working for a great man, but this campaign trail will have him questioning the people he works with, his love for politics and what lengths he will take to keep at the top.
This is an intense political thriller directed by George Clooney himself. The story doesn't ride far from reality and one can easily imagine these secret meetings, dirty compromises and immoral actions happening within any political nation. The script is clever and at times even witty, making something so intricate as politics, fun and engaging for audiences.
Every actor brings their best to the film, Evan Rachel Wood as a campaign intern is especially good. But it is Ryan Gosling that steals the show, confirming he is the top actor of 2011.
If you want confirmation that the world is a happy place where people skip around rainbows and eat cupcakes, maybe don't watch this film. Everyone can be victim to lies, betrayal and greed, this film doesn't side step anything not even to reconfirm the possible existence of the great American dream.

War Horse

This is obviously not Steven Spielberg's first war movie, it is however the first war movie he tells through the eyes of a horse. The story follows the friendship between farm boy, Albert and an unlikely work horse, Joey. This friendship is put to the test when Joey is sold to the British Calvary with the onset of World War One. The story follows Joey and his new owners throughout the course of the war.
This is an epic and emotional journey in vain of old classic Hollywood films. The horses of course steal the limelight and the human stories come second to the struggles that these great animals have to face. There is something so powerful watching these horses onscreen performing with such emotion and personality; the audience knows exactly what these horses are thinking. 
The film is slightly lengthy and the middle story may be too long but this length is important to validate the conclusion of the story. The cinematography is beautiful evoking images of Hollywood classics, for instance the colours of the end of the film are reminiscent to a scene in Gone With The Wind.
This may not be the greatest war movie that Spielberg has directed but it does have just as much heart and emotion. Like every character in the film touched by Joey's personality, you too will find it hard to not fall in love with this amazing beast.